Maps

A geologist's standard is the archive manuscript or computer generated geological map at 1:10 000 or 1:10 560 scale. It is the geologist's best interpretation of the geology at that time. The collection of over 30 000 maps covers most of Great Britain.

Field records notebooks

Notebooks produced by Survey and non-Survey geologists are held, with a wide variety of information recorded in the field including observations, sketches, sections with descriptions of exposures, wells, shafts, borings etc. Notebooks have been produced in a variety of formats and the collection dates from about 1800 to the present day.

Field slips

These are the maps taken into the field by geologists to record their detailed observations. Dating from about 1850 to the present day, they are an invaluable source of geological, environmental and land-use information.

National Well Archive

National Well Record Collection contains more than 130 000 classified records of wells, boreholes and springs within England and Wales providing a unique database of hydrogeological information.

Boreholes

Records of boreholes, shafts and wells from all forms of drilling and site investigation work. Nearly a million records are held with some dating back to at least 1790 and ranging from one to several thousand metres deep.

Aerial photography

Used as an aid to geological mapping they are also used to record field information in remote areas.

Mine plans

Plans of various types relating to all types of mining activity including working copies, compilations, interpretation and plans of abandonment. They date from the 1840s to the present day.